Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Thanks to the strike, CBS is plucking content from their sister network Showtime, re-purposing it and airing it on the broadcast network. Dexter is the first to make the jump, which is no surprise considering the popularity of CBS' other crime dramas. The Tudors and Weeds are also being considered for primetime spots.

This is actually kind of genius on Showtime's part. These shows are brand new to most of the country. CBS will be the premier destination for "new" drama, when everyone else will be airing re-runs, game shows, or worse. Plus, when people watch Dexter and get hooked (because it's impossible not to) and the writers strike comes to an end, they'll be more likely to order Showtime. Their subscriptions are going to skyrocket.

So why am I peeved? I finally understand what people who bought the iPhone early felt like. No fair! I paid extra for those premium channels and now they're just giving it all away. It just seems a little wrong.

I guess you can't stop progress. It will be interesting to see how they edit Dexter for time and content. They'll have to cut 10 minutes out of every episode. That might even be enough to get me to watch them again.